37 Trips Around the Sun: My Greatest Moments & What’s Still to Come
37 trips around the sun, and I’m feeling stronger, wiser, and more grateful than ever. Here’s to the memories made and the adventures still to come! 🎉✨
In just two days, I’ll be turning 37 years old—and what better way to celebrate than by reflecting on some of the greatest moments of my life so far?
Some are big, life-changing events. Others are small but pivotal in shaping who I am today. And because I’m always looking forward, I’m also sharing 37 things I still want to achieve—a mix of dreams, goals, and bucket list adventures.
So without further ado, here we go!
37 of My Greatest Moments
1️⃣ Getting our first family dog, Bridget, when I was four—while trying to keep up with her on a broken leg from a horrific curly slide incident.
2️⃣ My 8th birthday—the only birthday where I had a party with school friends. My “boyfriend” got me the Goosebumps board game. 💀
3️⃣ In fifth grade, my friends and I started a witches’ coven called Forces of Nature. We did rain dances on the kickball field during recess… and it usually worked. 🧙♀️
4️⃣ Also in fifth grade, my “boyfriend” got me a cassette tape organizer for Christmas because I didn’t have a CD player yet. 🤣
25 years of friendship and counting! From middle school memories to navigating adulthood together, Steff has been by my side through it all. Here’s to lifelong friendships that stand the test of time. 💛✨
5️⃣ Sixth grade was rough—my elementary friends pushed me aside, but middle school brought new friendships. Steff and I have been BFFs ever since.
6️⃣ Had my first kiss at a school dance in eighth grade (I think?). Then spent the weekend at Steff’s mom’s house—always a blast.
7️⃣ Had a major glow-up between seventh and eighth grade—braces off, clearer skin, and feeling more confident. Even my middle school bully stopped being mean to me!
8️⃣ Briefly dated the senior next door in ninth grade. It was weird. That ended quickly, thank goodness.
9️⃣ Spent weekends with Steff, and on New Year’s Eve freshman year, I may have made out with her cousin in the closet. 😅 (She knows, no secrets here!)
🔟 Good Charlotte played in our high school gym after we won KDWB’s Pennies for Heaven contest. It was epic! 🎸
1️⃣1️⃣ Met my high school boyfriend over Memorial Day weekend at my cabin while cruising around on golf carts.
1️⃣2️⃣ Made some amazing new friends in sophomore year—one of whom was my best friend through the rest of high school.
1️⃣3️⃣ Took a trip to Maryland with my aunt, built a relationship with my cousins, and had a blast.
1️⃣4️⃣ Junior year study hall squad—we got permission to watch movies in our teacher’s classroom on the projector. 🙌
1️⃣5️⃣ Was named World Language Student of the Month (thanks, Madame Dahlberg!).
1️⃣6️⃣ Discovered a love for creative writing—I’m sure my teacher worried about some of my darker stories, but it was an outlet I needed.
1️⃣7️⃣ Read Stephen King’s IT for my high school Mystery & Horror class. That book was thick, but I was hooked! 📖
1️⃣8️⃣ Got my first job as a server at IHOP, then switched to Circuit City for better pay.
1️⃣9️⃣ Lettered in academics all four years of high school.
2️⃣0️⃣ Started college at Century Community College for Business Management.
2️⃣1️⃣ Got engaged to my high school boyfriend, complete with matching ring tattoos. (Let’s just say… lesson learned. 😅)
2️⃣2️⃣ Finally ended that relationship during my second year of college—definitely a pivotal moment.
2️⃣3️⃣ Graduated college with an Associate’s Degree in Business Management.
2️⃣4️⃣ Got a job at Apple—which introduced me to some truly amazing people and became one of the biggest pivots in my life.
2️⃣5️⃣ Moved into my first apartment with a roommate. Let’s just say… interesting experience.
2️⃣6️⃣ Discovered I had fibromyalgia, lost my job with Target (thank goodness), and had to adjust to my new reality.
Throwback to the early days—when we were younger, a little less wise, and had no idea what life had in store for us. Now, 11 years later, I’d still choose us every time. ❤️
2️⃣7️⃣ Met Dan—and knew immediately that I was going to marry him someday. 💕
2️⃣8️⃣ Lost my job due to my health and had to move back home—one of the lowest but also most transformative times in my life.
2️⃣9️⃣ Dan and I moved in together again, marking a new chapter.
3️⃣0️⃣ Took our first cruise together and fell in love with traveling this way! 🚢
3️⃣1️⃣ Got a job in childcare, which completely changed my career path.
The moment that changed everything. 💙 Welcoming Garon into the world was one of the greatest joys of my life—my first baby, my heart forever.
3️⃣2️⃣ Welcomed our son, Garon, into the world. 💙
3️⃣3️⃣ Bought our forever home after the craziness of 2020 and COVID.
3️⃣4️⃣ Finally got engaged after nine years together. 💍
3️⃣5️⃣ Welcomed our daughter, Jorie, into the world. 💖
And just like that, our hearts grew even bigger. 💖 Welcoming Jorie into the world was pure magic—our family was finally complete.
3️⃣5️⃣ Welcomed our daughter, Jorie, into the world. 💖
3️⃣6️⃣ Got married and said I do to forever. 🥰
3️⃣7️⃣ Discovered my love for health and wellness, leading me to my next adventure—becoming a Health & Wellness Coach.
37 Things I Will Achieve in the Next 37 Years
✅ Become a certified Health & Wellness Coach
✅ Travel to Europe
✅ Travel to Australia
✅ Visit all 50 states
✅ Solo travel more
✅ Take the kids to Israel
✅ Convert to Judaism
✅ Learn Hebrew (not just reading, but speaking!)
✅ Travel more with the kids
✅ See the National Parks
✅ Get a cabin
✅ Own a house somewhere warm for the winters
✅ Buy a home in Bonaire to retire to
✅ Finish our basement for the ultimate women’s cave
✅ Be a surrogate
✅ Do foster care
✅ Read 2,000 books
✅ Start a podcast
✅ Write and publish a book
✅ Coach 1,000 people
✅ Volunteer in my community
✅ Go on a retreat
✅ Host my first retreat
✅ Build and run a retreat space
✅ Renew our wedding vows on a cruise
✅ Watch Garon’s bar mitzvah
✅ Watch Jorie’s bat mitzvah
✅ Go on an Alaskan cruise
✅ Go on a Transatlantic cruise
✅ Learn to drive a manual car (for when I’m on The Amazing Race—if that show still exists! 😆)
✅ Keep fostering relationships with those closest to me
✅ Go to Vegas
✅ Experience Mardi Gras
✅ Go to Burning Man (but only if it’s the original version, not the commercialized one)
✅ Become a grandmother and be active in my grandkids’ lives
✅ Start support groups for moms and teen daughters
✅ Own a VW Buzz minivan (because why not? 😆)
Some of these moments might seem small, but they were pivotal in shaping who I am. And looking ahead, I can’t wait to keep growing, learning, and checking off these bucket list items.
What are some of your greatest memories? And what’s on your bucket list for the next stage of your life? Drop them in the comments!